Optical illusion -Rene Magritte - Negative after Image illusion

OPTICAL ILLUSION BEST VIEW IN FULL SCREEN.

Using the principle of Negative After image.
I've created this illusion to demonstrate the effect, using Rene Magrittes "The False Mirror"

Simply stare at the white pupil of the eye, try not to move your eyes or blink too much.
When the image switches, it will appear as if it is the original full colour painting, in fact what you are looking at is a combination of the sensory input from the Black and White image combined with the negative afterimage left due to fatigue of your eyes photoreceptors (mostly cone cells).

You can break the illusion at any time by moving your eyes, however if you stare directly at the pupil again, often the colour will magically reappear.

Goes to show, that perception is not simply direct experience of reality, but a combination of sensory input, biological hardware, and psychology.

Enjoy.

Here is an explanation of the negative after image phenomena:

Negative afterimages are caused when the eye's photoreceptors, primarily those known as cone cells, adapt from the over stimulation and lose sensitivity.[1] Normally the eye deals with this problem by rapidly moving the eye small amounts (see: microsaccade), the motion later being "filtered out" so it is not noticeable. However if the colour image is large enough that the small movements are not enough to change the color under one area of the retina, those cones will eventually tire or adapt and stop responding. The rod cells can also be affected by this.

When the eyes are then diverted to a blank space, the adapted photoreceptors send out a weak signal and those colors remain muted. However, the surrounding cones that were not being excited by that colour are still "fresh", and send out a strong signal. The signal is exactly the same as if looking at the opposite color, which is how the brain interprets it.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• rene
• magritte
• margritte
• rene magritte
• illusion
• optical
• after
• image
• negative
• illusions
• perception
• hallucination
• science
• psychology

[cloefan29]

Thumbs up if you looked for a screamer

[BethanyBloodington]

Wow...when I blinked it was black and white O_o

[EBE246]

but i don't want to lose my sense of color, color kicks ass.

[EBE246]

This stuff is interesting. i notice that in some other negative or black and white images that have the three primary color dots red blue and green, the effect also works, this ties in so much with lightwaves, black and white light, i wonder how we can manipulate this stuff and wonder what we might be able to explore by looking past color, like what secrets or wonder might hide behind the whole idea of SEEING COLOR.

[LyssaLovesYou006]

@acadine1 Its supposed to look like its in color...

[Kushh621]

it didnt work for mee ;p

[fluffycatz4ever]

@mysticalisland we illusioned it 

[StreakyTheFurry]

orange eye turning blue...I like :)

[TheMsjojo1987]

it's a black guy

[Madsa101]

@BethanyBloodington u need to get those eyes checked :O

[mysticalisland]

WTF HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BRAIN?!

[LenaInAmerica]

did anyone else see the pupil gettin bigger O.o